The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)

Drama in the Drama Department

Previously: "Lost and Foundering" 

Christian Padilla says he has no idea what happened to your book. "I dropped it back in Mr. Wilkes's office so he and Charles could look at it," he tells you. "I don't remember seeing it after that."

"Could you ask Charles or Mr. Wilkes about it?" you ask. He shrugs and says he'll text you. When he asks for your contact info, Leah interrupts to tell him to send the DM to her. "I'll pass it along," she says. She treads on your feet as she pushes you back toward the auditorium.

"What's the deal?" you ask her.

"No deal," she says. "I just want to get back to Jack and Charles before they kill each other. Also, Christian doesn't need your contact info."

"How come not?"

"Because, sweetie, Christian's the kind of guy who would set you on fire for shits and grins. He totally did not delete that video he made of us the other night."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know him."

You blunder along back through the darkened auditorium, and Leah pushes you aside to rush up the row toward Jack. "Hey, me and Will are taking off," she murmurs at him.

"Good," he replies.

"Well, how about you come with?"

Even in the dark you can feel the cold glance that Jack turns onto her. But Charles takes her side. "Yeah, how about you all take off?" he says. "This is hard enough without you all distracting me."

"Distracting you would be the best thing for this disaster," Jack retorts.

"Leah, darling," Charles says, "be a dear and take your friend off and drown him someplace." She slaps him in the back of the head, but he only screws himself down even more firmly in his seat. Jack, though, lets himself be dragged back out into the sunlight.

"What's got into you?" she demands of him when you're outside.

Jack looses a theatrical sigh. "Nothing," he says. "I just pray I won't be around to see it when that unfolding disaster in there opens."

"Well, who said you had to? I don't even know why you've been going to rehearsals."

"I don't know either. Horrified fascination, I suppose."

Leah stares at him, then shakes her head.

"Whatever. Me and Will are going minigolfing. You're welcome to come if you can leave the bitch behind."

That seems to catch Jack's attention, and he gives you and Leah a light but querying once-over.

"No, I can't make any promises," he says. "You two have fun. Maybe I'll go find Parker and Kristina. If you won't let me watch the Titanic go down, maybe I'll go watch for the Hindenburg to blow up." He saunters away, like a very prim house cat.

"Oh Jesus," Leah mutters when he's away. She grabs you by the shoulders and puts her face into the crook of your neck. Every nerve and muscle in your body goes on high alert. "You know why I like hanging around with you, Will?" she murmurs into the side of your head. "Because you don't bring any drama along."

She releases you, and pulls you along toward the breezeway leading to the the student parking lot.

* * * * *

At her suggestion you end up at the Monte Viso entertainment center by the mall, but you content yourself with pumping tokens into the classic arcade games they have in the main shed. As you play, she tells you about the various dramas of her various friends. Like the girl who's been trying to get herself pregnant, and the girl who not a week goes by without scaring herself that she has gotten herself pregnant. There's the girlfriend who can't stop herself from crushing on the worst possible boys she could crush on, and the girlfriend who got her crush and too late found out he was the worst boy she could have crushed on.

And now it looks like she's got Jack to add to the list.

"Thing is," she says as she rapidly taps the buttons on the Mortal Kombat machine and explodes the heads of foe after foe and foe, to your amazement and dismay, "he's the last one I figure would have, like, a nervous breakdown. He handles his shit better than anyone else I know."

And what shit would that be?

"Oh, well, the typical, you know," she says. "No boyfriend and not much of a chance at one. That, for a start."

Wait, Jack's gay? you barely stop yourself from blurting out.

"And he's got Charles and his mafia to deal with," she goes on. "You saw them going at each other back there. It's like that anytime they get within, like, ten feet of each other. Jack usually just steers clear of Charles, but I guess he's been in a mood for trouble. I hope it's not about Parker. God!" She releases the controls and steps back to take out her phone, letting her avatar get pasted. She hesitates over her cell for a few moments, then with a grimace she puts it away and steps back up to the machine, saving herself from losing just in time.

And who is Parker?

"Jack's best friend forever. Except now he's got a girlfriend."

"Doesn't he like her girlfriend? Jack, I mean. Likes Parker's girlfriend."

"He likes her fine. They're all best friends, do everything together. That was Parker and Kristina he took out with us up to the school the other night. But it's gotta be stressful for him. You know. Best friend getting a girlfriend, and it's one of their friends."

She concentrates on her play, and you let her concentrate until she finally loses. But instead of letting you take a turn, she asks you to take her home. "Sorry, that was selfish of me," she says in a distracted tone as you wander back out to the parking lot. "I just needed to get some stress worked out." You mutter something about your being glad to help, but she makes no reply until you are at your truck.

That's when she pushes you back against its side and presses up close to you.

"You know," she says, "if you really wanted to make me feel good, you'd put your arms around me and pull me tight. You don't have to do anything with your mouth, though. Unless you really can't help yourself."

Your pulse briefly quickens. But when you put your arms around her and squeeze, it feels so good and natural that your pulse slows up again. It doesn't even pop when you put your head to the side and give Leah's ear a quick nuzzle. She pulls in a deep breath, then lets it out again and relaxes limply against you.

* * * * *

So your brain is lit up and twinkling like a Christmas tree all evening when you're home. I've got a girlfriend! you tell yourself. At least, it sure looks and feels like I do. Doesn't it? Isn't this what it's like? Maybe I should ask Leah for sure. Or should I just let things drift along? Except that's what you did with Lisa, and look how that worked out.

Which would be worse? Losing Leah because you let things drift, like you did with Lisa? Or losing her because you come on to her too hard, trying to make it a firm boyfriend-girlfriend thing?

You decide to ask Jack, and text him. It takes you a surprisingly long time to craft the text:

I hung out with Leah afterschool and we are seeing lot of each other it seems like. Today she asked me to hold her and even kiss her which I did. I want to go out with her and I think we are kind of going out already but do you think I should make it official like by asking her to be u know in a relationship?

And as soon as you send it, you want to take it back. You throw yourself into your homework to try distracting yourself from visions of all the elaborate methods by which you might kill yourself, thereby saving yourself from Jack's reply.

And his reply when it comes (not ten minutes later) is even ruder than you could have feared: Lol sure go for it man. The casual go for it would have been bad enough on its own, but the Lol just seems gratuitously cruel. So you only send back a snippy Sure thx ok when he follows up with, Chr Padilla wants ur contact info I gave it him ok?

* * * * *

It's not until Tuesday, though, that Padilla texts you, to talk to you about your book. Well, sort of. He wasn't able to find it, he explains in the text, but Mr. Wilkes wants to talk to you about compensating you for its loss. The idea makes no sense to you—you didn't lose it, you just want to buy it back—but you agree to meet with him Wednesday at lunch. You're supposed to eat with Leah again, and you're surprised to learn that she's also got business in the theater. "Some drama to do with Elle and Laura," she tells you. "Of course, it's the drama department."

Unlike the other day, the place is empty when you go in, and no one answers as you and Leah call out. The stage, the wings, even in the very back, where the instructor's office is. All deserted. "I'll try to find someone," Leah says with a roll of her eyes as she takes out her phone. "You go wait out front, in case they come in."

You've just reached the main doors, though, when you hear your name called from back behind. "You hear from someone?" you shout back, then trudge back the way you came when Leah just calls back, "C'mere!"

She's sitting on the floor, huddled against the wall when you find her, and you just have time to ask, "Yeah, what's the—?" before you realize that she's asleep, or unconscious. You hurry over and kneel beside her. Her head lolls, and her eyes are open but unseeing.

You sense rather than hear the presence behind you. Something goes over your face, and then you are sinking into darkness.

Next: "The Theatrical Trade" 

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"Table of Contents (Vol. 2)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)"